Former Ohio State Coach Thad Matta Reaches 500 Career Wins

By Dan Hope on February 19, 2026 at 12:35 am
Thad Matta and his Butler assistants
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Thad Matta is officially a member of the 500-win club.

The former Ohio State basketball coach, who won a school-record 337 games over 13 seasons with the Buckeyes, earned his 500th career win in Butler’s 93-89 win over Georgetown on Wednesday.

Matta’s tenure at Ohio State was one of the most successful eras in the history of Buckeye basketball, as Ohio State averaged nearly 26 wins a season under his leadership. His tenure was highlighted by an NCAA runner-up finish in 2007 and another run to the Final Four in 2012.

Fired by Ohio State in 2017, Matta took five years off from coaching before returning to Butler, the school where he got his start as a head coach in 2000. While Butler has yet to make an NCAA Tournament under Matta and is just 14-13 this season, he now has 85 wins in five total seasons at Butler. He won 78 games in three seasons at Xavier, where he was the head coach from 2001-04 before becoming the coach at Ohio State.

Matta becomes the third Ohio State men’s basketball coach to earn 500 career wins as a college basketball coach, joining Gary Williams (668 career wins) and Eldon Miller (568).


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